Let's Go Together
by chizora
Summary: #7 - Everything gets mixed up. AU stories of GoGo Tomago and Tadashi Hamada.
1. Lucky Cats

AU stories for Gogo Tomago x Tadashi Hamada from Big Hero 6, prompt ideas from froggydarren's prompts on tumblr.

**#1: oh my god I'm so sorry my dog usually doesn't jump up on people like this I have no idea what their deal is but also hey there'**

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_In which Mochi is cute, but also a temperamental jerk._

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GoGo stretched her arms lazily as she walked back to her where her bike was parked, the sun already beginning to cast long shadows onto the empty street. She'd just finished her last delivery of the day, and was more than ready to get home and have a hot shower.

She was almost to her bike when a slight motion to her right caught her eye. A Calico cat was padding towards her along the top of the wall she was next to. It was a very round cat, with a tiny bell hanging off a green collar jingling lightly. GoGo watched it come closer until it stopped just before her and stared rather intently. She had to tilt her head up to stare right back - thanks to the height of the wall, she was slightly under its eye level.

Though she wouldn't readily admit it, GoGo was kind of a cat person. Not that she had time for any pets at all, really, but if she had to choose, cats were low maintenance and still cute to look at. Plus, she could relate to the whole "anti-social, hot-and-cold" personality pretty well.

A minute passed before the cat broke the staring contest, looking down disinterestedly to sit and lick at its paw. GoGo got a bit closer to the wall, tentatively reaching up to stroke under the cat's chin. It purred a bit, and GoGo got more comfortable, petting between the ears and stroking its back. The purring intensified, and the cat nudged her hand with their head. _How spoiled,_ GoGo thought. _Cute._

At that moment though, a voice suddenly called out. "Mochi! Where'd you go? It's time for dinner!" A guy, rather tall and wearing a baseball cap, rounded the corner.

"Mochi!" He exclaimed upon seeing the fat cat, then paused, smiling a little when he saw GoGo, who found herself in another staring contest. The boy's eyes were warm brown and under the cap some stray black hair was peeking out. Something about his face was just...very welcoming. _As cute as his cat_. She banished the thought as fast as it came to her.

Feeling stupidly flustered, whether from being caught showing so much affection or something else, she looked away first. "Oh, sorry, is this your c-"

What happened next was a blur. One second, she'd been turning back to Mochi. In the next, Mochi had taken a flying leap at her face.

"Ow! Holy-what the hell!" Claws dug in at her shoulders and she struggled to grasp the moving bundle of fur attached to her head. The guy had run up now and was trying to help her dislodge Mochi's front paws and collar, which were tangled in her hair. "Mochi! Get off! Bad cat-stop it!"

Mochi yowled and resisted the guy's efforts to lift him from underneath his arms, wildly flailing his paws and catching GoGo's cheek with his hind leg as he was finally pulled off her. She felt a stinging pain and pressed a hand to her face, seeing blood when she drew it back.

"I'm so sorry! He's never done this before, I don't know what happened!" He was busy juggling the writhing cat in his arms until he looked up and noticed the cut on her cheek. "You're bleeding!"

GoGo frowned, which pulled the cut painfully. "Yeah, good eye there. Look, learn to train your pets better, oka-" She froze when she felt his fingers gently brush her face, his head bending down slightly to get a better look. Mochi had settled into being a grumpy ball of fluff in his other arm.

"It's not too deep, but it should be properly cleaned and disinfected. My house is just a block over, I can help you treat it."

"Woah! Personal space, buddy. Ever heard of it?" GoGo slapped his hand away. "It's fine. Besides, I don't even know you, I'm not following you into your house." She thought the harsh attitude would deter him, but he only grinned sheepishly.

"Sorry about that. I actually live above the Lucky Cat Café; my aunt owns it. You can just sit at one of the tables or something, if you don't trust me. There's still customers around. I really think you should treat it, though." His smile turned into something softer, and GoGo wasn't sure what to say. She knew the Lucky Cat Café really was around there, and her helmet would probably irritate the cut...

What sealed it though, was his smile, and how genuinely trustworthy it was.

"Alright." She breathed out. "Lead the way." Cat-boy (she decided to deem him, what with all these cats) grinned and started walking, Mochi swishing his tail idly. GoGo followed with a slight distance between them.

"So, you like cats?" Cat-boy asked as they turned the corner.

"I don't mind them when they're not attacking me." He laughed.

"Sorry again. He's never done that before. Normally you won't find a lazier, more relaxed animal." They both looked down, where Mochi was innocently rubbing his head on cat-boy's arm.

"Yeah, well. We were doing alright until you came by, I'd say. And stop saying sorry. Unless you made him attack me just so you could take me back to your place under false pretenses." GoGo joked dryly.

Cat-boy chuckled a little, and GoGo was surprised again at how he seemed to understand her words didn't hold any real malice. It normally took people longer to realize when she was being sarcastic.

They were partway down the next block now, Lucky Cat's weather vane in sight. "So, cat-boy. Got a name?" She wanted to know more about him, suddenly.

"Oh yeah." He turned to look at her. "I'm Tadashi. Tadashi Hamada." He stuck out a hand. GoGo looked down at it, then at him again.

She put her hand in his. "GoGo." He smiled wide, warm, and she let herself smile back, just a little.

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**A/N:** My interpretation of these will follow the general prompt but I am going to change some things around to fit my ideas.


	2. Fall (For You)

**#2: met while jumping into the same pile of freshly raked leaves in a park (alternatively, one jumps in and they met when no 2 kicks said pile of leaves)**

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_In which Tadashi's inner child gets beat up._

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It's the textbook definition of a perfect autumn day in San Fransokyo, with the air crisp and biting but warm enough to only need a coat and a light scarf. The sun is bright overhead, lighting up the brilliant display of reds and oranges and yellows on the trees and carpeting the ground.

Tadashi strolls leisurely through Kinmon Park, observing happy couples and families enjoying the weather. Two small kids are happily bouncing through leaves that have been raked into gigantic piles on the side of the paths, and Tadashi is reminded of doing the same with Hiro when they were younger - looking for the biggest piles and racing to see who could jump in first (he let Hiro win, more often than not). They would play until Aunt Cass found them, hands on her hips and smiling with her eyes when she saw the leaves in their clothes and hair.

A wave of nostalgia comes over him then, and he wonders if he's too old to be doing that now. The leaves look absolutely perfect – dry and piled as high as his waist. He's so tempted. And nobody is really paying attention to him at the moment – what would it hurt? He turns around to scan the park one more time, positions himself in front of the pile, and jumps backwards.

Tadashi lets out a little _oof_ as he lands_, _leaves cascading around his vision. Then he starts laughing – whether from the rush or the disbelief he actually did it, he doesn't know. He feels like a little kid again and he's glad he jumped in.

Eventually his laughter dies down, and he's left staring up at the sky and branches from the surrounding trees. The sunlight that filters through makes the leaves glow prettily, and the little leaf-cocoon he's lying in is nice and cozy. Tadashi decides to stay there for a bit before getting on his way. His leaf pile is so tall around him he's sure nobody can see him right now, anyways.

So he's feeling quite relaxed and content when something connects painfully with his side. There's suddenly a lot of swearing and movement as Tadashi, making an anguished sound, clutches his ribs and rolls over while his assailant curses her mouth off and crouches down to his level, looking unsure of what to do with her hands.

Gingerly, he presses his hand down. His ribcage is rather sore, but still feels intact. Tadashi coughs. "Ouch."

"Hey. You alright?"

Tadashi looks over his shoulder to see his attacker bending over him. Against the sunlight and the short, dark hair framing her face, he can only dimly make out her features. Her mouth is twisted into something bordering concern and annoyance.

"I think – I think so. I need a minute." So she gives him one.

When he feels recovered enough to attempt sitting up, she reaches down to help, slinging his arm over her shoulders to lift him, and Tadashi finally gets a good look at her. She has purple streaks in her choppy hair, and her eyes are a dark brown. She's also quite tiny, and he marvels at how much damage her foot has dealt him despite that.

"Thanks." He automatically says, then "but, well, no thanks for earlier." She's scowling at him now.

"Sorry for kicking you, but what were you doing _sleeping in a leaf pile? _I thought I'd found a dead body!_"_

Tadashi finds himself getting a little embarrassed as he retorts "I wasn't sleeping! I'd just…jumped in, and hadn't gotten out yet." It sounds stupid even to his own ears, and he can tell she thinks so too by the look on her face.

"Why were you going around kicking piles of leaves, anyways?" He adds quickly, because he can tell she's about to comment on his last remark. She arches her eyebrow at him.

"It's more normal than jumping in and then deciding to hibernate there. Unless you're a gigantic child, or a dog, or something." Tadashi can't disagree, but finds himself trying to defend his last bit of dignity.

"But sometimes it's good to let loose once in a while, don't you think?" She gives him an unimpressed look in return. "Oh, come on. Didn't you ever jump in leaves when you were younger?"

"I kicked leaf piles as a kid." She smirks a little, and he thinks he should have seen that coming.

"You should try it sometime. It's really refreshing. Gives you a new perspective on things."

"Even if I did try it, I definitely wouldn't keep lying there. You're probably covered in bugs right now." She looks pointedly at his arm, which Tadashi hadn't noticed was still slung around her shoulders. He's about to remove it when out of nowhere he gets a wonderful, terrible idea.

"You know, you should really learn to live a little."

She's able to look slightly offended and confused for all of two seconds before he's tightening his grip and they're falling back onto the pile of leaves. Her squawk of surprise is worth it, he thinks, and can't help himself from laughing again.

She struggles to sit up. "You're insane!" she spits out incredulously. He grins up at her.

"Nah, I'm just a gigantic child at heart."

She pauses and considers this for a second, then turns to her side, picks up a handful of leaves, and neatly dumps them on his face. He's sputtering and laughing now, reaching over to pick up his own handful and toss them in her direction. He gets her pretty good; there's a lot sticking to her hair.

What follows is a good fifteen minutes of leaf fighting, though Tadashi is losing because his mobility is limited thanks to his sore ribs.

They eventually call truce, equally exhausted, and lay back side-by-side on the pile with a respectful distance between them. Tadashi's side hurts again, but he doesn't really care at the moment. Staring up at the sky and tree branches, he waits until their breathing returns to normal before speaking.

"So. How does it feel, letting loose?" He turns his head to look at her. She's facing upwards, the sun highlighting the purple in her hair, face relaxed into a neutral expression. She doesn't say anything at first, and Tadashi is left admiring the slope of her nose until she suddenly speaks.

"Refreshing." She turns his way and he's staring right into those dark brown eyes. Tadashi can feel the heat that creeps up on his face, and hopes it's not as visible as it feels. He holds out his hand.

"My name's Tadashi, Tadashi Hamada."

She gives him a look that says _really? Are we really doing this right here?_ But her mouth is pulling up at the ends and she meets his hand with her own.

"GoGo Tomago." They shake hands, lying down on a leaf pile in the middle of a public park.

"So, GoGo." Tadashi hasn't let go of her hand yet. "My ribs are killing me. I don't think they're broken but they're probably gonna be black and blue tomorrow." He says all this while grinning broadly.

GoGo purses her lips. "Oh? And what would you have me do about that?" There's a knowing gleam in her eye.

"A couple of bruised ribs don't need much compensation. Maybe – say – about the price of a few cups of coffee? There's actually a café the next street over, now that I think about it."

"Imagine that." GoGo says dryly. "Well, we'd better get going then. I'm probably covered in bugs."

She moves to help him up, the same way as before, except they make it to their feet this time. They take a few moments to brush the leaves off of them before Tadashi places his arm back around her shoulders.

"Just in case." He grins down at her head. Now that they're standing he can see how much taller he actually is than her. "My ribs, you know."

GoGo pokes the side pressed against her gently. "I think you're faking it."

But she lets him keep his arm around her the whole way there.

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**A/N:** So far these stories have involved someone getting hurt, oh dear.

As an aside, I imagine that besides jumping in, Tadashi would have lifted Hiro up like in Lion King and then tossed him into the big piles too.


	3. My Favourite Girl

**#3: waiting behind you in line but 'excuse you me did I just hear you talking shit about my favourite superhero there SON'**

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_In which GoGo can't stop feeling warm._

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GoGo snapped her gum irritably.

Slumping against the brick facade of the theatre, she checked her watch for the umpteenth time. She'd been standing in line for half an hour and it had barely moved. If anything, it was going _backwards_.

But she had to bear with it, because this little indie theatre was the only place in San Fransokyo playing a special pre-screening of the new _Fujitas _movie months before its actual release date, and GoGo needed to get passes before they sold out. They started selling at one pm, and only for a limited amount of 200.

The Fujitas were a trio of kickass roller-skating geisha; O-hatsu, San and Maiko. GoGo was obviously a fan, especially of the smallest and fastest, Maiko. Honey Lemon liked them too, so GoGo wanted to surprise her with the tickets as an early birthday present.

She'd broken a few traffic laws biking here from her last delivery just to make it in time and her black tank top was still uncomfortably sticky. San Fransokyo's sun in the height of summer was not helping her cool off either. It was 1:35 now, but the theatre seemed to be behind schedule. And on top of that, she'd forgotten her music player at home, so she was here with no way of passing the time. GoGo thought she might go crazy before she even stepped foot inside the theatre at this rate.

She looked around. Everyone else was in a similar state of boredom. The person in front of her, a tall boy in a baseball cap, was on his phone.

"Yeah, still. Another hour, maybe? I think there's some kind of delay. Let's meet at 2:30 instead, sorry." GoGo took a swig from the water bottle in her messenger bag to cool down and glared at a snail inching past her foot.

"No, it's a prequel, like an origin story. We're finally gonna know if they're actually related or not. And how they meet Yokai." He chuckled. "Fred's really excited about that; he's been talking nonstop about it for weeks."

He leaned back against the wall like GoGo as he continued talking. "They're all pretty cool. If I had to choose, probably O-hatsu, then San, then Maiko...I don't really think Maiko's weapon is very practical. I mean, she swings it around with her _teeth, _how is that more efficient than just using your hands?"

GoGo's ears twitched.

"Like in the last movie, it took forever for her to catch that guy when she could've used the chain as a lasso or something. Except you kind of have to use your hands for that. It seems like she could be a lot more creative with her weapon, but it's all the same tricks."

GoGo was oddly annoyed. It felt a little like she had been insulted personally despite how silly a slight it was. He was correct; even she thought Maiko's weapon handling was impractical, but it was a movie, damn it, and it looked cool.

She could hear him finish talking to his friend and end his phone call, and turned to face him.

"You don't like Maiko?" GoGo blurted out, surprising herself. She wasn't the type to get riled up about fictional characters but _Fujitas _was the rare exception. Plus she was sticky and bored and cranky – take those things together and GoGo felt a little more confrontational than usual.

He looked around before realizing she was talking to him. "Uh...I didn't say that?" He furrowed his eyebrows.

"But you don't think she's smart enough to use her weapon or something?"

"What? No. I just think she could've done more with it, you know?"

"She took care of that guy in the alleyway just fine anyways." GoGo pointed out.

"Yeah, but they obviously reused shots from the earlier sequence. They should have come up with more interesting techniques with that kind of weapon. Maiko's capable enough to make up new moves on the fly. It was just kind of a lazy way to save money."

"Oh." GoGo could feel her anger losing steam. That was kind of like…he was defending Maiko, actually. "So you like her, then."

"Yeah of course, if I didn't I don't think I'd care how they portrayed her." The line started to move and GoGo caught up to him.

"Yeah." GoGo chewed her gum slowly. "Hey. I didn't mean to go off on you or anything...Maiko's kind of my favourite, and I was bored."

He grinned down at her. "Don't worry about it. Do I look offended?" He really didn't. In fact he'd been pretty collected during that whole argument. Although it had been less of an argument and more GoGo snapping at him.

"Guess not." She dropped back behind him in line, but he lagged back to keep beside her and continued talking.

"Makes sense that Maiko's your favourite, though. You seem kind of like her." GoGo raised an eyebrow and blew a bubble. He continued on. "I saw you blow in on your bike. You nearly took me out when you parked." He smirked at her teasingly. "She's a little speed demon too."

"Did you just call me little?" Her tone was unamused but she was smirking back.

"If you want to take it that way. Maiko's my favourite too, you know." He grinned at her as they moved through the doors into the theatre.

"I thought O-hatsu was."

"Just her weapon. So what should I call you, or are you good with being Maiko?" GoGo felt a little flustered at that suggestion.

"GoGo."

"For real? Like Yubari? You have a thing for meteor hammers." He laughed, and it made his face light up. GoGo found herself liking it.

"That's not it. It's a nickname I got because I like to go fast." She shrugged.

"I'm Tadashi." He gave her a smile. "So what do you think of San's weapon? A razor throwing-fan?"

She and Tadashi ended up chatting until they reached the ticket counter, about movies and bikes and any random topic that popped up, like the best flavour of bubblegum and his little brother's bot fighting. She was oddly disappointed when it was finally his turn at the counter.

He got his tickets, and as GoGo stepped up next, Tadashi turned to her. "Hey, I have to go, but it was nice talking to you! I'll see you soon." Before she could ask what he meant, he _winked_ at her and walked off.

She turned back to the cashier. "Two, please." As she pulled out her wallet, she glanced at the tickets placed on the counter and was struck with realization. GoGo couldn't help smiling to herself as she left.

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A week later GoGo was back at the theatre with Honey Lemon for _Fujitas. _Honey bounced excitedly as they walked in.

"Ooh! GoGo, look, they have the cardboard cutouts! Let's take a photo with them." She dragged GoGo over, her trusty fox-case phone out and ready. GoGo rolled her eyes but smiled fondly at Honey's antics.

After taking a few different shots, Honey was reviewing the pictures when GoGo caught sight of a familiar baseball hat and looked up. Tadashi stood there, grinning at her while casually holding a pack of gummy bears.

"Hey there, Maiko." GoGo blew a bubble so he couldn't see her smiling as Honey looked between the two of them.

"Didn't I tell you my name was GoGo?" He shrugged and gave that infuriating grin.

"Yes you did." He raised his free hand. "Hi, you must be Honey Lemon. I'm Tadashi."

Honey gave GoGo a _look _before bouncing forward and grabbing Tadashi's hand to shake it enthusiastically. "Hello, Tadashi! GoGo didn't tell me we'd be meeting her…_friend_ here, is it?" GoGo tried to discreetly give Honey Lemon a side-eye glare.

"I'm sure I would've if he had told me." GoGo raised an eyebrow at him. Tadashi just laughed at her.

"But you don't look very surprised." He gestured back to the theatre. "Saved you guys some seats. We're third row from the back."

"That's so sweet of you, Tadashi! GoGo and I are going to get some snacks first. We'll meet you inside!" GoGo could tell Honey was itching to grill her on the details, and almost wanted to go with Tadashi instead. Almost.

"Nice to meet you, Honey. See you guys in there!" as he walked away Honey wasted no time in dragging GoGo over to the concession line.

"So? Who's that? Where'd you meet him? Have you guys been on a date yet? _Why didn't you tell me about him?_" Honey shook GoGo vigorously. GoGo rolled her eyes.

"He's just a guy I met standing in line for these tickets, that's all. We're hardly even friends, let alone anything else."

"Not _yet_. I could feel something in the air! It was...it was like a chemical reaction! _He has a nickname for you already._"

GoGo just shook her head. "If you say so, Honey." Honey giggled and bumped GoGo with her hip. "I _do_ say so. Don't think I didn't see you smiling when he showed up. You were totally flirting!" GoGo laughed and bumped her back.

They bought their popcorn and drinks (and Honey Lemon's customary bag of candy) and made their way into the theatre.

Tadashi, true to his word, was sitting with his friends and who GoGo guessed was his little brother, two empty seats beside him. Honey Lemon practically pushed her up the steps first.

They sat and exchanged introductions, then settled in as the previews began to roll. GoGo stared resolutely ahead, conscious that Tadashi's shoulder was only an inch from hers.

"So, we're going to get something to eat after. You and Honey Lemon should come too." Tadashi leaned down to whisper, breath tickling her ear. GoGo was glad the lights had gone down because she was sure her face was flushed.

"We'll see." She elbowed his arm. "Shh, it's starting." He nudged her back and she retaliated and somehow their arms ended up side by side on the armrest. She could feel the warmth where they were pressing against each other and the light brush of skin against the back of her hand.

Glancing out the corner of her eye, she caught a look at Tadashi's face just as a bright frame lit up the theatre. It was tinged red.

GoGo left her arm where it was.

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**A/N:** So I didn't want to use any pre-existing superheroes in case someone really liked them, and also because I know shit about canon except for what I know from movies and cartoons.

The Fujitas are villains that never made it into the Big Hero 6 movie, but you can search them up. They have really cool designs! I just made up the names for them, though.

GoGo Yubari, for those who don't know, is a character from Kill Bill. She uses a meteor hammer (spiked ball on a chain) as a weapon, like one of the Fujitas.


	4. The First Step

**#4:** **3am and the fire alarm in our apartment complex just went off let me lend you my jacket while we wait on the sidewalk**

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_In which little sleep is had that morning._

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Tadashi woke with a start to the fire alarm blaring.

Immediately he thought _Hiro,_ both in worry and accusation, before remembering his little brother was staying at a friend's place tonight. Jumping out of bed, he ran to the window to see people were already evacuating the complex onto the sidewalk.

He could hear footsteps hurrying down the hallway, and he hastened to throw on a sweater and coat. Slipping on his sneakers, he grabbed his keys and phone and followed his apartment neighbours heading to the stairwell.

Everything on their floor appeared ordinary. "Do you know what's going on?" Tadashi turned to the person beside him, the elderly Mrs. Nishikawa. She shook her head.

"Hopefully it's just a false alarm like last time. I'd hate to stay out too long in the cold tonight." She patted her large, puffy coat vigorously. "I'm all set though!"

Tadashi grinned. "That's great." On her other side Mrs. Nishikawa's adult daughter smiled at her lively mother and took her hand as they reached the stairs. Tadashi automatically grasped her other hand and they helped her walk down. Luckily they were only on the third floor.

Mrs. Nishikawa patted his arm in thanks as they exited to join the other tenants gathered outside. Tadashi glanced around. A fire truck was parked on the street and the crowd had parted to make way for the firefighters coming in. The building from the outside seemed fine, so Tadashi went to stand under a streetlamp.

Looking up, he let out a breath that disappeared into white mist. The moon was bright and clear tonight, hanging against the inky sky. Checking his phone, he groaned when he found it was 3:30 in the morning. He was supposed to be up early to collect Hiro from his friend's place. Hopefully this wouldn't take long so he could at least get in a couple more hours of sleep.

Tadashi heard a sneeze and looked over. He recognized the girl crouched on the ground; she was a fairly new tenant, having moved in about four months ago. He sometimes ran into her getting her mail in the foyer, but never saw her on the elevator. Whenever he greeted her she always responded with a cool nod or a pop of her bubblegum. Somehow Tadashi found himself looking for her when he went to pick up the mail, hanging around longer than necessary.

She was crouched with her knees drawn to her chest and rubbing her arms to keep warm, probably due to the fact that she was only wearing a large T-shirt with her sweatpants and heavy boots. Concerned, Tadashi approached her.

"GoGo." She looked up at him. "You look like you're freezing." He must have surprised her, because she stared at him a long moment before shaking her head and answering.

"Yes I am, Captain Obvious. Thank you for noticing." Then her eyebrows went up as Tadashi started taking off his coat. "That's not what I meant-"

Tadashi threw his coat around her shoulders. She started protesting, but Tadashi could tell she needed it if her arms were too frozen to bother pushing it off. He crouched to her level and drew it tighter around her shoulders.

"Just take it." He smiled at her as he fastened the top button to hold around her neck. "I've got a sweater too, I don't really need both." He stood back up to look down at GoGo, huddled on the ground with his coat blanketing her. She looked like a little round lump. It was ridiculously cute; he couldn't help laughing.

She scowled darkly. "I'm keeping your coat."

"Keep it, keep it." He sat down beside her, unperturbed. "So why don't you have a jacket?"

"I was taking out the trash when the alarm went off. Didn't really have time to get it." She sniffled. "Plus the landlady was right there, she wasn't letting anyone go back." Ah. The garbage chute was next to the stairwell.

"At 3:30 am?" he teased. "Night owl."

"Forgot to do it when I came home. I got back and pretty much passed out until now." GoGo burrowed the bottom half of her face in the collar. Tadashi tried not to concentrate on the fact that her lips were pressing against his coat.

"Aren't they done yet? People have to wake up early, y'know." GoGo muttered, lolling her head onto her shoulder. "I have to be up in less than two hours, for god's sake."

Tadashi whistled. "Wow, why?"

"I'm a bike courier. Deliveries." She yawned. Tadashi recalled one other bike in the complex's locker area, sleek and black. "Oh, that other bike's yours then."

GoGo snorted. "No way. That old thing belongs to you? How is it still running?" Tadashi pretended to look deeply wounded.

"Hey! She's a reliable old girl. Takes me everywhere I need to go." GoGo rolled her eyes. "But at what speed? Snail's pace? Drying paint?" Tadashi checked her shoulder playfully then paused. _Was that too familiar? _

But GoGo nudged him back, even harder. "Your brother's not around?"

Tadashi let a tired laugh out. "Yeah, I've actually got to be up at 6 to go get him."

"You two seem really close." GoGo was looking at him carefully. "I mean, I've seen you guys together a lot, you're always shouting about something exciting."

Tadashi was a little happy to hear that she had noticed him, although it was because he and Hiro apparently couldn't speak with proper indoor voices. He realized GoGo probably didn't even know his name.

"It's incredible how fast I can go from being amazed to infuriated by him. But I'm so proud when I see him growing every day. I think I'm lucky to be his brother." Tadashi looked at the ground, grinning.

When he looked up, GoGo was smiling softly at him with an expression in her eyes he couldn't easily identify. Moonlight dusted her hair, making the purple streaks glow and Tadashi couldn't look away. He wasn't even sure what kind of face he was making.

He felt in that moment he could do something really stupid.

He was probably lucky it was then that the firefighters and landlady chose to come out and declare the building safe to re-enter.

"So where's Hir- where's your little brother gone?" GoGo asked as they started to get up. Tadashi looked at her, surprised.

"He's staying at a friend's tonight, probably marathon gaming right now. How'd you know his name?" GoGo shrugged, but was resolutely not facing him.

"Like I said, you guys talk a lot. Not quietly, either." She went ahead to join the crowd going back inside, but Tadashi's long legs let him keep pace.

"So uh...you know my name too?" He hoped he didn't sound too excited. GoGo glanced at him from the side of her eye.

"Tadashi."

He could swear his heart was beating double time, just from hearing her say his name. She suddenly whirled to face him, and he stared back dumbly.

"You knew my name." She narrowed her eyes. "I don't recall telling it to you."_ Ohh shit, Tadashi, think fast._

"Well, you probably don't remember, it was like three months ago, I, we ran into each other and you dropped your mail and I picked it up for you, and your name was on that." Which was true, except he didn't include the part where he started calling her by name in his head whenever he saw her and imagined starting conversations with her over dropped mail and wow this was starting to sound stalkerish he should have made something up.

"Right." She didn't _sound _incredibly creeped out, so Tadashi chanced a look at her. Her mouth was quirked up and she seemed...amused by his flustering.

They made their way back into the complex, but as Tadashi headed to the elevator, GoGo split off towards the stairs. He followed. "Do you normally walk? No wonder I never see you on the elevator."

"Yup." She replied as she started up. "The elevator's too slow." She was still wearing his coat, he realized. It looked good on her.

"What floor are you on?" He called out. Damn, she was fast; she was practically taking the steps two at a time. "Fifth." She called back, but paused until he caught up. "You?"

"Third."

She started walking again. "And you usually take the elevator? You should woman up and walk, you're not even that far up." She suddenly turned to look over her shoulder and Tadashi nearly bumped his nose into hers. "No wonder I never see _you_ in the stairwell."

Tadashi got the feeling he would be doing a lot more walking after this.

They reached the third floor in no time and he tried to think of a lame excuse to walk her to the fifth floor, but GoGo smirked like she knew what he was thinking.

"So I'm keeping your coat." She announced, pulling her arms through the sleeves and tucking her hands into the pockets. "I distinctly remember you saying I could." Tadashi opened his mouth and closed it again.

"If you want to visit it or something, though, I'm up in 505." She spun on her heel and started heading up the stairs, pausing briefly on the landing. "Maybe I could teach you to fix that clunker of yours, too."

"She's not a clunker!" Tadashi yelled as she disappeared from sight, grinning so wide he thought his face might split.

Entering his apartment, he checked the time – 4:10. He could probably get another hour and a half of sleep in before he had to leave to pick up Hiro. As he settled back into bed, his thoughts turned to stolen coats and staircases and purple hair in the moonlight.

He didn't get much sleep that night after all.

* * *

**A/N:** Don't worry, it's just some hungover guy that tried to cook bacon in the middle of the night and forgot to open a window or something.


	5. Dancing Around

**#5: it started as one game of ddr in a games arcade/convention and turned into a two hour long battle and I won't let you win**

* * *

_In which GoGo plays games with Tadashi; some easier than others._

* * *

Wiping the sweat from her brow, GoGo leaned back against the bar where her jacket hung. Around her, the din of digital sound effects and clinking tokens swirled with the chatter to create a buzz of background noise that she ignored completely.

With her eyes glued to the screen in front of her, she chewed her gum a little harder to hide her nervousness. Not that she had anything to be worried about, because GoGo was sure she had won it with that last combo run, but she _had _started off rather behind...

The scores came up, then the grade, and GoGo nearly kicked the machine in frustration. A laugh sounded from beside her.

"Unbelievable! Looks like we managed to tie it, huh?" The speaker was a tall, black-haired boy, fanning the collar of his T-shirt to keep cool as he leaned back on his own bar of the DDR machine. He was grinning brightly at GoGo.

GoGo chose to mulishly blow a bubble at him instead of answering. He put on a mock pout in response.

"Another round then? Or we can finish it next time."

To an observer it would seem like she had ignored him, turning back to reach for her jacket, but he understood and reached into his own pocket as they pulled out more tokens and went to insert them into the machine.

They set the difficulty and began flipping through the song choices quickly. "What'll it be this time? K-pop? Anime theme? Beethoven's fifth?"

GoGo shrugged and hit _randomize_. Before they headed back to their platforms she took her gum and stuck it to the underside of the machine. It was time to go all out_. _She did a quick calf stretch as the song started loading.

"GoGo." She looked up to see his fist held out toward her. _Oh, right. _

"Let's have a good game." He smiled. GoGo rolled her eyes but gave him a light fist bump.

"Let's. Hey, Tadashi." She added before he could turn away.

"Hmm?"

"I feel like having strawberry today." She smirked as the first notes began to play. He just gave a little laugh, and they started the game.

* * *

It had started six weeks ago.

GoGo was finishing up a delivery in an area she hadn't visited in a long time. Seeing as she was done for the day, she made the decision to wander around for a bit and see what had changed.

Strolling down the street, GoGo drank in familiar sights. This area was around the neighborhood she had lived in when she was younger, and she would come through these streets everyday going to and from school.

There were several new shops and construction work had been done, but for the most part it remained the same as in her memories. The convenience store on the corner, the herbal medicine store, and the small grocery store were still there. As she went by the dried goods store, she even recognized the shopkeeper's daughter running it now.

GoGo paused when she came across the old arcade. She had spent most of her time here. Often she would stop by after school, sometimes with a friend but mostly alone. And always the same; DDR. It was the one that required the most movement and she had practically cut her teeth starting on the fastest speed.

Of course GoGo hadn't played in years now, but she idly wondered if she was still any good. Peering through the glass, she found it wasn't especially busy, only three people inside. She had time, she figured, and pushed the door open.

Inside, the arcade had changed quite a bit; most of the games had been updated or replaced. There were more first-person shooters, rhythm and racing games, and even a small purikura booth. But there were still the classic cabinet machines, air hockey, shitty prizes behind the counter, and…there. The DDR machine had been regulated to the back corner.

GoGo strode up to the counter and bought a few tokens, then made a beeline to DDR. It was obviously newer than the one she'd played on back then, and she relished the challenge. She figured dancing was just like riding a bike, and proceeded to start on maximum difficulty.

It took her more than a few tries to get back into, but after thirty minutes and a few trips to the counter GoGo's feet were skillfully keeping time to the rhythm.

As she ended a round, she heard clapping to her left and she whipped her head around, startled. She hadn't even noticed anyone come up.

It wasn't any of the people that had been inside already but a tall boy, leaning over the bar of the platform that GoGo wasn't using. His baseball cap was blocking his eyes, but she could see the black hair poking out from underneath. He looked around her age.

"That was really good! It took me so long to master that song." He glanced at the screen. "And you're on the fastest speed too!" He shot a grin at her.

GoGo blinked and turned away. "Um. Yeah." She went up to the screen to pick the next song and hoped this guy wouldn't be watching the whole time she was playing. No such luck.

"So hey, I couldn't help but notice you've got a lot of tokens lined up." He nodded to the stack of coins GoGo had sitting on the ledge of the machine. "But do you think I could get a turn?"

No wonder he was sticking around. She supposed she had been here awhile, but she still had tokens to get rid of and she wanted to keep playing. She didn't have the patience to wait for him to finish either.

He was still leaning on the bar, awaiting her reply. Gogo chewed her gum thoughtfully.

"Want to play two person?" She finally offered. "We can just use my tokens."

"Oh, sure!" He gave her another huge smile (was it something to be that excited about?) and got onto the platform. "I'm Tadashi." He introduced himself as GoGo put the tokens in.

"GoGo." She watched the graphics load. "So Tadashi, are you going to be able to keep up, or do I need to slow down for you?"

He took his cap off and smiled crookedly, letting GoGo see his face for the first time. He was rather attractive, honestly, but GoGo put it out of her mind.

"Don't slow down on my account." He tapped _difficult. _"You can pick the song." She chose some cheery techno thing and they stepped back to the platforms.

"Hey." Tadashi held out his fist to her. GoGo looked at him strangely. "What?"

He motioned with his fist again. "Fist bump. For good sportsmanship." He seemed serious.

"Or sportswomanship." GoGo noticed the arrows coming up quickly. _Whatever_. She bumped his fist quickly and they started dancing.

Two minutes later, and GoGo couldn't believe it. He'd beaten her by a large gap. She glanced at him from the side of her eye. He merely shrugged and gestured toward the machine, smiling.

Going through the song choices, GoGo decided it was only because she was rusty. Not to mention she had been playing for a half hour straight earlier; she had less energy than him. Still, it irked her to lose and she resolved to best him the next round.

Unfortunately, she found herself on the losing end again for the next five songs, and she could feel her frustration rising. She wanted to beat him at least _once_ before she went home at this point.

Tadashi must have sensed how worked up she was getting, because as the scores disappeared from the screen, he hopped off the platform.

"I need a break." He announced, grabbing his hat. "I'm just going to play Pacman for a bit." GoGo looked at him briefly before turning away. "Suit yourself."

He watched as she picked up more tokens. "GoGo." He walked around to her side. "Why don't you take a break?"

She huffed irritably. "No thanks. Obviously I'm more out of practice than I thought." It was ridiculous to be this upset over a game, GoGo knew, but she couldn't help feel resentful that someone was better (faster) than her.

"Even so. How long were you playing before I got here?" When GoGo didn't answer he pointed to the other games.

"Come on, aren't you pretty tired? Maybe you could beat me in something else." She gave him the stink eye at that, and when he smiled brightly back she realized what he was trying to do.

"Yeah, all right." She muttered, gathering her remaining coins. They settled into a shooting game, using Tadashi's tokens this time.

In the end, they went through several different games; shooters, racing, cabinet games and air hockey. GoGo won a large amount and she had to admit she felt a lot better by the end of it. They spent the time between games chatting, and it started to feel like they had known each other a long time.

Checking her phone, GoGo realized she'd been at the arcade for a couple hours now; she'd been enjoying herself too much to notice. Glancing at her companion who was currently enthralled in his game of Pacman, she coughed. Tadashi made a sound to indicate he was listening.

"Wanna finish up on DDR?" She had enough tokens for one more round.

"You sure? Had enough of a break?" His profile grinned. She twisted her lips up and poked him, hard, and he laughed (when had they gotten comfortable enough for that, GoGo wondered). "I'm sure."

They got back on the machine, and GoGo let Tadashi pick the settings while she stretched. She felt much more confident now, and as Tadashi offered his fist she bumped it back without much thought.

"Hey, since this is the last round, let's make it interesting." GoGo was the one grinning this time. "Loser buys ice cream."

"You're on!"

By the time the song finished GoGo felt content and thought she wouldn't mind even if she had lost. And she had an excuse to hang out with Tadashi longer. _Because it's fun to hang out with him, that's all, _GoGo hastily thought.

The score came up and Tadashi laughed. "Congrats, GoGo." She just threw him a smirk as they gathered their stuff.

"Convenience store?" Tadashi asked as they exited the arcade. GoGo nodded and they walked down slowly.

"So." Tadashi started. "That was fun." He was grinning ear to ear.

"Mmm." GoGo was smiling, although she wouldn't look at him. "How come you're so good at DDR?"

He laughed. "My little brother likes to come here on the weekends, I sometimes tag along. DDR's his favourite." He dropped his voice. "I also come along to make sure he doesn't rig the token machine."

GoGo laughed at his face of long suffering. "He sounds like a handful."

"And a half." Tadashi added as they stepped into the convenience store. "What'll you have?"

She picked out a drumstick while Tadashi got a lemon popsicle for himself, breaking hers open while he paid. There was a bench outside, and they sat down to enjoy their treats.

"Better finish this all now, or Hiro's gonna be mad I didn't get him one." Tadashi joked. GoGo _hmmed _around her mouthful of vanilla and tried not to stare at him licking his popsicle.

"Hey, GoGo." Tadashi was the first to break the silence. "I know you said you don't come by this neighborhood anymore, but I was thinking...or hoping...maybe you would-"

"I want a rematch." GoGo interrupted him a little too loudly. God, she could feel her face turning red.

"Huh?"

"DDR. I want a rematch. I only beat you once today, that's pitiful. You said you come by on weekends?"

She turned when he didn't answer and found they were face to face. "Oh. Oh yeah. Yes!" He shifted his gaze to his popsicle. "Want to - want to meet up on Saturday afternoon? Have a revenge match?"

"Sure. I'll be there around 1." GoGo turned back to her cone before it melted all over her hands. They finished up in silence, then split ways as GoGo's bike and Tadashi's house were in opposite directions.

"So I'll see you next week!" Tadashi raised a hand as they parted, grinning cheerfully. She merely gave him her two-finger salute and started to head back to her bike, a smile breaking out across her face.

* * *

Since then they had unofficially met up at the arcade every Saturday, and eventually whatever day they had free as well. Sometimes Tadashi's little brother Hiro would come, and GoGo understood why he needed watching; the kid was a teen genius, and a precocious one at that. They played a variety of games if the mood struck them, but they always ended by having a DDR match wherein the loser would buy ice cream.

Currently, they had been doing a best of five but the tiebreaker had tied, leading to the extra round.

The song ended, and GoGo plucked at the straps of her top. Beside her Tadashi pulled the collar of his shirt up to wipe his forehead, and GoGo failed to rip her eyes away from where the skin of his stomach peeked out. The sweat was also making the shirt cling to his shoulders nicely.

She could hear a sniggering behind her, and knew Hiro had caught her checking out his older brother. She threw a look that made him stop, but he still had that little smirk on his face.

"So it's strawberry today, huh?" Tadashi's voice brought her attention back to the screen. Oh. She had won. "Yeah, let's go." She hurried down and hoped he hadn't noticed.

"Hiro, you coming?" GoGo stopped as she realized the younger Hamada wasn't following them. He always joined them when Tadashi lost since his brother would buy him ice cream too.

"Nah, I'll pass." He gave a look over her head at Tadashi that confused her. "Good lu~ck."

She squinted at Tadashi. "What's he talking about?" He shrugged, hastily ushering her to the door.

"No idea. Let's go!"

"Weird." GoGo commented as they walked. "He never misses free ice cream." Tadashi laughed a bit, but he seemed distracted.

"Hey." GoGo poked him. "What's up with you?" His face was flushed, and the longer she looked the worse it got. It even went to his ears, which was adorable.

"I, uh. GoGo." He stopped abruptly and turned to look her in the eye. She felt a tingle in the back of her neck.

"I really enjoy hanging out with you, a lot, and I was wondering if you wanted to go somewhere with me next week that isn't the arcade. Without Hiro." He expelled in one breath, and GoGo needed to catch hers.

"This is a date, right?" He nodded, and she just took him in at that moment; his slightly shy look, the way he had shoved his hands in his pockets to keep them still, how he didn't seem to know whether to keep his eyes on her face or not.

His expression was getting more and more nervous as she took her time to answer, and GoGo felt bad at how much she enjoyed it.

"Yes."

Tadashi's expression went from surprise, to disbelief, then happiness. "Really? Are you sure?"

GoGo snorted. "Do you want me to change my mind? One condition though."

Tadashi hadn't stopped beaming at her. "Yeah?"

"Buy me ice cream."

He laughed. "Absolutely."

* * *

**A/N: **So obviously it's been ages since I've last played DDR and forgotten how the machine works so don't mind if somehow I described something that wouldn't work on a real machine? Ha...

Holy shit the word count on my stories keep fluctuating so much.


	6. Rainy Daze

**#6: it was raining so hard I wasn't paying attention as I ran into the side of your car/you/your umbrella but were both drenched now and also hey there'**

* * *

_In which Tadashi hadn't meant to get her wet._

* * *

"Urgh." Tadashi mutters as he pulls his arms closer to himself, trying to avoid getting the bags he's holding wet. It doesn't work too well.

The rain right now is so torrential, if it were literally cats and dogs the streets of San Fransokyo would look like a carpet. Water fills up cracks and forms deceptively deep puddles, coating the ground in a glossy sheen.

Tadashi and Hiro had been helping Aunt Cass at a crowded Lucky Cat when they had run low on some supplies. It was a quick run to some local shops so Tadashi had volunteered to go (who knew what Hiro would get up to in that amount of time).

When he left the weather hadn't been too bad, but the return journey home is hindered by a heavy storm. The wind is pushing the rain around in a hundred different directions, and Tadashi's umbrella is threatening to turn itself inside out as he tries to maintain his perilous grip on the handle.

In a second, the wind changes again and a blast of air sweeps in from behind him, the umbrella finally flipping as it's torn violently from his hand. He makes a wild grab for it, but the weight of the bags on his arm throws him off and his body follows; one foot goes out reflexively to catch him.

The umbrella smacks face first into a girl who is running with her jacket draped over her head. At the same time, his foot ends up landing heavily in a puddle so deep it goes up to his ankle, splashing the legs of both their pants.

Tadashi is properly mortified as he rips the umbrella off her. She's drenched, black and purple hair clinging to her face and water dripping down her collar. He flips his umbrella to shelter them both. "I'm so sorry about that, are you okay?"

The force of her glare is incredible, Tadashi thinks, as he shrinks under it. He feels the chill all the way down to his toes until he remembers one foot's still in a puddle and quickly removes it.

"And sorry about splashing you; I'll compensate you for the cleaning! Are you injured at all?" He babbles as she remains silent. Why won't she say anything?

The girl takes several deep breaths as if she's trying not to pummel him. "I'm fine." she finally bites out.

"Really?" Tadashi glances over her anxiously. She looks beyond the opposite of fine. Her nose is red and her lips are blue, not to mention her knees are subtly shaking.

"Just peachy." She sidesteps him into the rain so Tadashi follows, umbrella still shielding them. Shooting an annoyed look over her shoulder, she ducks under an awning and starts wringing out her jacket as he hovers, tentatively watching.

"What do you want?"

Tadashi feels absolutely terrible; he can't just walk off without making up for his carelessness. "You sure you're okay? Do you need somewhere to dry off? Because I can get you a towel or something, I live just over-"

She scoffs. "No thanks. I'll stay here until the rain stops. Don't worry about me." It's impossible not to, though; she's soaked and standing out in the damp air. She could catch a cold, or hypothermia, or develop bronchitis, and it's all his fault.

"You're drenched though. And I think it's supposed to rain for a few more hours." More glaring.

"Listen." He begins, because he can see she's about to make another remark to dismiss him. "I'm heading to the Lucky Cat Café; it's my aunt's place. Why don't you come with me? She can probably get you something dry to wear and we can wash your clothes. I just really don't want you to freeze to death."

He isn't sure if his sincerity is conveyed through his words, but maybe something in his expression convinces her, because after a moment of prolonged scrutiny (_her eyes are pretty,_ he faintly thinks) she steps under his umbrella.

The way back is rather silent. All he gets out of her is her name – GoGo. Tadashi understands; he wants to hurry and get somewhere dry too. GoGo doesn't seem like a very verbose person anyways.

They enter the house, Tadashi dropping the wet bags and umbrella on the floor as Hiro comes barreling out from the café.

"What took you so long? We're packed in there-" He pauses when he sees GoGo, rubbing her arms as she drips water in their entranceway.

Tadashi starts to check the bags. "Sorry, there was kind of an accident and GoGo here got the brunt of my clumsiness." The groceries are miraculously dry; thank god he got them triple bagged. "Can you get Aunt Cass?"

Hiro, the little bugger, chooses to accomplish this by turning around and yelling, "Aunt Cass! Tadashi got a girl wet and brought her home!" Tadashi chokes and turns beet red.

"What was that for, you knucklehead!" He lunges and Hiro jumps to avoid getting caught.

"For leaving me to do all this work alone! Aunt Cass wouldn't let me use the coffee robot either- " Tadashi catches him and they tumble to the ground as he noogies Hiro's head.

He hears a snort and remembers GoGo's standing there. Her smile disappears the moment he looks up but those pretty brown eyes are laughing. Embarrassed, Tadashi rights himself as Aunt Cass pokes her head in.

"Boys! What do you think you're doing right now? And Tadashi, did you get everything alright?" Then she notices Tadashi and GoGo's state and gasps.

"Oh! What happened to you two?" She rushes forward and gets some towels from the stair cabinet. "Hiro, go back and mind the café. And bring the groceries, please!" She instructs. Hiro sighs, picking up the bags as he goes. Aunt Cass starts drying GoGo's hair off.

GoGo looks surprised at the contact and awkwardly lifts her hands. "Oh, I can…you don't have to do that." The sudden shyness is an endearing contrast to her icy personality from before. Cass turns to Tadashi and starts furiously toweling his hair, forcing him to bend over so she can reach. "So, what happened?"

Tadashi takes the towel from her. "I accidentally hit her - this is GoGo, by the way - with my umbrella, and splashed us both with a puddle. I was hoping you could lend her something to wear while I wash our clothes?" He looks down at his muddy jeans.

Aunt Cass clucks her tongue. "Of course! But how about you go get changed, and then help Hiro out in the café? I'll get GoGo something to wear and do the laundry." They're ushered upstairs in the blink of an eye.

Tadashi joins Hiro downstairs shortly and falls into the routine of taking orders and making drinks. It's packed with people trying to put off reentering the rainstorm, many customers standing around with their coffee to go cups.

Aunt Cass reappears with GoGo, who seems to have showered and is wearing some sweatpants and a big t-shirt. A table has thankfully just been vacated and she leads GoGo to it, clearing the cups off and taking them to the till where Tadashi is stationed.

"Why don't you make her something to drink? I'll take over." Tadashi nods thoughtfully, taking the dishes from her. "The laundry'll be done in a couple hours, but I told her she could stay as long as she likes. Poor girl was going to ride her bike home or something in this weather."

Tadashi is kind of glad she chose to come back with him now, if she was about to do something dangerous like bike down slippery streets. He has the feeling she's a fast driver.

"I'm surprised, you know. I didn't realize you were so clumsy, Tadashi." Aunt Cass remarks. He chuckles good-naturedly as he starts on GoGo's drink. "Can't win against nature, I guess."

She's playing with a packet of sugar when Tadashi approaches her table with a mug and a doughnut on a plate.

"On the house." She looks up as he sets them down. "Something to warm you up. It's hot chocolate; I don't know if you're into sweet stuff so I made it dark. I can add some milk if it's too bitter, though."

GoGo wraps her fingers around the cup, watching the steam curl lazily out. There's a long stretch of silence, and Tadashi is about to go when there's finally a small, "thanks." She's still looking at the cup, a rosy hue in her cheeks (or maybe he's imagining it).

"Just yell if you need anything, okay?" He grins brightly and leaves.

Though he said that, he sneaks a look the minute he's back at the counter only to find she's peering at him. He's jolted, but hides it and mimes putting a cup to his mouth. GoGo cautiously takes a sip, and he's suddenly nervous.

She smiles, one he can actually see, and it gets butterflies flurrying in his stomach. Then she gives a little shake of her hand, like _eh, it's okay. _It makes him laugh and he puts on an offended look, crossing his arms. _Oh really? Just okay? _A shrug._ I just call 'em like I see 'em._

Aunt Cass clears her throat from behind him. "Don't forget to make some drinks in between flirting, alright?" She sounds highly amused.

"Ah...sorry, Aunt Cass." Tadashi ducks his head sheepishly.

"Was _that _your idea of flirting?" Hiro adds, looking unimpressed. He dodges the arm Tadashi swats at him.

Over the next twenty minutes of making drinks Tadashi finds himself looking over at GoGo so much Aunt Cass switches him to waiting tables instead of Hiro.

He tries to explain. "I'm just concerned about her health. I mean, I could've made her sick, so I'm checking for symptoms."

"Okay, sweetie." Aunt Cass's voice clearly says she doesn't believe him.

That's what he's still telling himself, anyways, when he's stopping by GoGo's table every time he heads back to the counter. He refills her cup and gets her more snacks, making small talk about anything he can think of. Eventually her one-word answers turn into full sentences, and he learns about her bike, her job, tattoos, even her favourite flavour of bubblegum.

The crowd thins out as the rain starts to lighten, and Tadashi gets a short break. GoGo doesn't even look up as he slides into the seat across from her.

"I have to commend the staff here. I've never been to a place where the server stops by every five minutes." Tadashi laughs, a little embarrassed that he's so transparent. She rests her face in her hand and looks at him. "So, I think I've shared enough about myself. Your turn."

He talks about his brother, his cat, his love of robotics and his dream to invent something that will help others. The conversation takes a turn and they end up using all the napkins at the table as he scribbles diagrams of huggable robots and she draws up magnetic wheels (he was right about her driving fast). It's the most fun he's had in a long time.

The hour after his break is over seems infinitely more enjoyable, not in the least because when he passes by GoGo's table he knows how to get an actual smile out of her now. It's actually a bit unexpected when her clothes are pronounced dry and she gets ready to set off. Tadashi honestly hadn't noticed the time flying by and wishes he could come up with an excuse for her to stay.

"So." He scratches the back of his head as they stand in the entrance of the house. GoGo is holding a dollar store umbrella that he insists she just throw away and a bag full of pastries courtesy of Aunt Cass. "Sorry once again, for almost drowning you."

"Well." GoGo drawls. "You did do my laundry. And fed me some fairly decent hot chocolate. So I'll forgive you." She smirks, but it softens. "Thank your aunt again for me. She's really nice."

"She is." Tadashi smiles at her. "I'm kind of glad today happened - not splashing you, I mean! Just, uh, getting to know you was nice. And I hope that…maybe I'll see you around sometime?" Tadashi wants to bury himself. He doesn't even need Hiro to tell him how lame he sounds; he can hear it.

GoGo shrugs and opens the door. "Maybe." As she steps into the rain, she gives him a two finger salute and just like that, she's gone.

For the rest of the week, Tadashi catches himself peeking at the front of the café when he's working, hoping to catch a glimpse of purple streaks or a girl in a leather jacket. When it doesn't happen he sighs and resigns himself to never seeing GoGo again, especially when Aunt Cass reports that she hasn't come by on his off days either. Hiro calls him a dork for being so mopey about a girl, and he can't disagree.

Next Monday it rains again, barely a light sprinkle, but Tadashi is reminded of GoGo anyways. At the very least the lunch crowd distracts him from thinking too much.

So he visibly jumps when he finishes cleaning the cappuccino machine and she's there when he turns around. Looking a little smug at his reaction, she pops the pink bubble in her mouth with a _snap_.

"GoGo!" She gives a lazy wave of her hand and the heat in his stomach rapidly grows when he notices the dollar store umbrella hanging from her wrist.

Though he's been hoping for her to come in he can't organize all the things he wants to say. All he can manage is, "can I…get you something?"

"I'll take a hot chocolate. I hear they're not too bad." She teases.

"For here or to go?" He's holding his breath.

One side of her mouth quirks up. "Here."

"Sure." He's a little giddy, and doesn't care that it's seeping into his voice. He sets to work making it, and she leans on the counter to watch. "So are you just in the neighbourhood? Or was there somewhere particular you were heading to?"

"Just looking for some shelter from the rain." At that they both glance at the drizzle outside, barely visible.

"Really coming down out there, isn't it?" Tadashi laughs as he slides her the drink.

GoGo smiles and picks up the cup. "Can't win against nature, I guess."

* * *

**A/N: **This thing was sitting in my computer for the longest time;;;; Also I filled it with bad puns.


	7. Food For Thought

**#7 - eating in the same diner every morning and the waitress ALWAYS mixes up our orders so why don't we just sit at the same table to save her the trouble**

**# 30 - orders switched at a restaurant au**

* * *

_In which everything gets mixed up._

* * *

GoGo stared sullenly down at the plate in front of her. A chicken club, a side of onion rings, and some ketchup sat there, looking delicious. Unfortunately it was not at all what she had ordered.

It wasn't the first time since GoGo started coming to this restaurant that this had happened. In the beginning she let it go, because hey, it was a busy place, and people make mistakes, whatever.

But now? After a grand total of _eight _times, that was far too often for her to make excuses for the waiter.

Her chair squeaked against the tile as she grabbed the plate and her bag to head over to where a boy with black hair sat, engrossed in a thick book. He broke out into a wide grin when he spotted her approaching.

"GoGo! That wouldn't be what I think it is, is it?"

With a clatter the plate landed in front of him as she slid into the opposite seat. "Looks good. Enjoy."

"GoGo?" He watched her take her bag off, confusion written on his face. "What...what are you doing?"

"I thought it was rather obvious." Still he continued giving her that blank look. GoGo rolled her eyes.

"Look, Tadashi, I don't know how, but they've managed to mix our orders up nearly every time. We don't order remotely similar things. We don't sit at the same tables. So I'm going to sit here and get my food when I'm supposed to, unless you have a problem with that?" And her expression just dared him to refuse.

"No! Course not." His grin was back. "You're welcome anytime. Food always tastes better when you're eating with others." And GoGo knew he meant that with the utmost sincerity, because Tadashi was that sort of guy.

Truthfully, GoGo knew slightly more about Tadashi Hamada then she would care to let on. Formally, they'd exchanged only names somewhere around the fourth mix-up; he was a friendly and fairly intelligent guy (if the robotics books he was reading were anything to go by) who seemed to be around her age.

Now, whether it was out of boredom or curiosity she'd developed a habit of observing him at length. She'd first started keeping an eye out for him as a forewarning against late food. But she'd continued watching him long after that fact until she came to the realization that she knew about his habit of running his hand through his hair, and that when he smiled the left side of his mouth went up first.

GoGo didn't want to think too much about what that meant.

"So...how're you?" Tadashi's voice broke through her reverie, and she flit her gaze away.

"Fine." GoGo paused. She wasn't much for small talk, but she didn't want to be rude after forcing herself onto his table. "I'm alright. You?"

"Good, that's good. Me too." Tadashi drummed his fingers on the table, silence descending. "Want an onion ring?"

GoGo practically shoved it into her mouth, thankful for the distraction. She wasn't good at this, especially with cute semi-strangers. This is why she needed gum, dammit.

...semi-strangers in general. She definitely didn't think he was _cute _just then.

She slowed down her chewing, buying time. GoGo didn't know why she was self-conscious about what she did say to him; it was literally just eating at a table with another person, after which they would go their separate ways. What he thought of her shouldn't bother her.

Except it did, and _that _thought bothered her.

"GoGo, you alright? You look like you're kind of worried about something." She looked up to see Tadashi's concerned face.

"It's nothing. Kind of something stupid." She lied, smoothing out her expression. "So, you come here pretty often." It wasn't the most subtle of transitions, but Tadashi went with it.

"My classes end around lunch, and the food for the price here is unbeatable. It kind of makes up for the service." At that GoGo smiled wryly.

"Didn't think you cared about the service."

That was another thing about Tadashi – he was perpetually positive. Unlike her, he never badmouthed the restaurant whenever their orders were switched yet again. Instead, he'd spin it into something like "at least it's cooled down now!" or "it's always good to see you, GoGo." (That one made her uncomfortably happy).

Tadashi shrugged. "Well actually, the girl who's been bringing my food lately is pretty cool." He shot her a crooked smile.

GoGo snorted. "The guy who's been bringing _my _food lately is a bit weird."

Tadashi pulled his face into a pout, complete with big puppy dog eyes. "You mean you didn't enjoy the cat napkin I folded?"

"How does one even _begin_ a hobby like that?"

"Not a hobby. My aunt runs a café, and we had a cat themed day. There were cat-shaped balloons and pastries and we drew cats in the lattes. And I got to learn how to fold cat napkins!" He laughed sheepishly. GoGo quirked her lips just thinking about it; Honey Lemon would love that sort of thing.

"And actually" He dropped his voice. "The worst part was we had to wear cat ears!" He blushed slightly as GoGo laughed.

"That sounds like a maid cafe. Or butler for you, I guess." She teased. "Did you have a tail too? Oh god, I'm imagining something funny right now."

He mock scowled. "Hey, I think I pulled it off with some dignity intact. In fact-" He dug around in his bag before pulling out a cellphone. "I took pictures."

They leaned in towards the phone as he flipped through his photos. Most of them contained a fat calico cat, a smiling brunette woman, and a messy-haired teen.

"That's my aunt - the one with the café - and that's Mochi, our cat. He made us so many tips on cat day. And this troublemaker -" he paused on a photo of the boy pulling a rather ridiculous face. "This is my younger brother, Hiro."

He said it with such obvious affection GoGo didn't think he even noticed. She couldn't help but smile softly and luckily Tadashi didn't turn her way at that moment.

"He's the reason I took photos. Can't call myself a big brother if I don't have any embarrassing pictures of him, can I?" He swiped again and a photo of Tadashi and Hiro in cat ear headbands came up. Hiro was very visibly trying to get out of the frame while Tadashi held up a peace sign with one hand and restrained Hiro with the other.

"Wow, you weren't kidding. Look at you, rocking your pretty kitty ears." She smirked, leaning in further to get a better look.

"The key is confidence. Then you can pull off anything, even cat ears."

_I'll say_, GoGo thought as she absently examined the photo. He actually looked...attractive in them.

"You'd look pretty cute in them, I think." Tadashi suggested. The idea was so hilarious GoGo nearly ignored his choice of words.

"When hell freezes over, sure. And I don't do _cute_."

Tadashi examined her hair. "Are you sure? You know, your hair actually sort of looks like ears already – here and here..." He pointed to the areas, finger lightly brushing the strands. "It would definitely work!"

A noise of disbelief rose from her throat. "Excuse you-" she turned abruptly only to find their noses were nearly touching. His eyes were wide from surprise and GoGo could see the exact shade of them was a tawny brown.

Suddenly she was hyperaware that his hand was still hovering over the nape of her neck, palm radiating heat (or was that from her?). Slowly, it lowered to sweep through the ends of her hair.

Tadashi's gaze flickered briefly down before meeting her eyes again. Then he seemed to steel himself, opening his mouth to speak-

-and the waiter came by with her food, dropping the plate of wings on the table and waltzing off without so much as a refill of water.

They jumped away from each other, GoGo pulling her plate towards her loudly as Tadashi took his own back. She was sure this time her neck was actually flushed.

"That looks pretty good!" Tadashi smiled as he picked up his sandwich. "I've never tried the wings here." His voice was slightly too loud.

She realized that disappointment was welling in her chest, but she crushed it down and offered him a wing in return for the onion ring.

The rest of the meal passed in relative silence. GoGo could no longer deny she found Tadashi Hamada attractive, and spent the remaining meal questioning just what the hell she had been thinking, sitting here. She had never been so unsure of how to act.

"Hey." Tadashi hoisted his satchel over his head as they got up to leave. "Where're you headed off to now?" She shrugged, popping a piece of gum in as she exited the door.

"GoGo." Tadashi followed her outside, standing by when she went to unlock her bike. "I was wondering, is there something you were bothered by?"

GoGo stopped cold, not sure if he'd picked up on her dilemma or if was referring to something else entirely. Just to be safe she said nothing, staring him down as she desperately tried to think up an answer.

Tadashi's hand ran through his hair. "It's just that you seemed kind of off ever since..." he flushed at the recollection of earlier. "And you looked like you were really contemplating something, and a little bit mad, so I thought maybe it was about...what happened then. And I should probably explain."

GoGo felt cold. She'd misinterpreted the moment and now he'd noticed her feelings and was trying to reject her nicely. Embarrassment rose up in her and she wanted to make a quick getaway.

"Sorry if I made you uncomfortable." He continued, looking at her shoes. "If I crossed some kind of line…I won't do it again." His ears were turning an adorable red. "I don't want you to think I'm some kind of creeper or something that gets too familiar with just anybody."

Well, this wasn't going in the direction she'd thought.

"I don't think you're a creeper, Tadashi." She murmured. "Though now I'm wondering what you were going to say."

"It's just you, I mean, I've noticed you for a while, and I can't seem to stop looking for you so maybe we could see each other a little more outside this restaurant?" He was looking somewhere around her forehead now. "I wasn't going to make a move today, but you kind of surprised me. You do that."

GoGo scoffed. She certainly wasn't being the surprising one right now.

"I was actually worried that you'd noticed me checking you out earlier." She'd said it nonchalantly but there was no hiding the amusement that leaked into her eyes.

"Oh. _Oh._" His voice sounded strangled and he flushed pleasantly. "See. Surprising." She popped her gum, satisfied.

"So if you aren't busy." He rocked on his feet. "I'd like to take you out somewhere, sometime."

"Hmm." GoGo pretended to mull it over. "Well, I feel like grabbing a coffee actually. Preferably somewhere I could get a cat drawn on it. Know any place like that?"

"As a matter of fact." His grin was brighter than any she'd seen on him before. "I do."

* * *

**A/N: **Ah shit, I rewrote this ending three times before settling on this = w =


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